A woman who was a child victim of paedophile Eamonn Cooke has spoken out about her experiences in a powerful interview.
Sophia (not her real name) was one of the victims whose testimony helped to secure a conviction on sex assault charges against Cooke in 2007, when he was 70 years old. He was found guilty of 42 charges of sexual assault at the Central Criminal Court. He died last week.
Sophia was groomed and abused by Cooke in her pre-teen years, from the age of seven, with the abuse finally stopping when she was 10.
She told Newstalk Lunchtime with Jonathan Healy that the experience of abuse at Cooke’s hands left her terrified for most of her life.
Thoughts of his other victims inspired her to persist with her evidence at two trials despite her fear, and he was eventually sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Asked if she believed Cooke (pictured at his first abuse trial in 2002) had the potential to have killed missing schoolboy Philip Cairns, she said “Certainly, he had it in him…He had no conscience at all.” She said Cooke was capable of inspiring great fear in adults and children alike.
She said he had caused “a mountain of grief” and had “many silent victims”, whom she encouraged to “have courage. Go to the Gardaí. Go to your family” to tell their story.
Sophia also advised parents to take control of what their children were exposed to online, as new technologies had made it easier for sexual predators to target children.
You can hear excerpts from the interview here.
Dublin DJ Cooke gets 10 years for ‘horrendous’ sexual assaults
Dublin Rape Crisis Centre 24-hour helpline: 1800 77 8888
